


Tohru's Birthday Wish

by riceballinthebasket



Series: Kyoru Week 2020 [1]
Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Birthday, Day One: My Wish, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Kyoru Week 2020, Wishes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26839162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riceballinthebasket/pseuds/riceballinthebasket
Summary: It's Tohru's first birthday since Kyoko died. Arisa and Saki even get Kyo and Yuki in on the small celebration. Tohru's asked to make a wish, but her mind is--for some reason--spinning with thoughts of why Kyo looks so sad.(Rated Teens and Up for Kyo's swearing. Be warned.)
Relationships: Hanajima Saki & Honda Tohru & Uotani Arisa, Honda Kyouko & Honda Tohru, Honda Tohru & Sohma Yuki, Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Series: Kyoru Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968826
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Tohru's Birthday Wish

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This is my contribution for Day 1 of Kyrou Week 2020! The prompt is "My Wish", so I went full-on cliche and was like "birthday. Yup. Cool." 
> 
> This takes place before the True Form arc and right around the one year anniversary of Kyoko passing. 
> 
> I'm just getting back into writing prose (I've been writing primarily plays for three years now), so the level of detail is not what I'd like it to be at yet, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!

Tohru did not like to make a big deal of birthdays, which is why it came as a total surprise when Arisa stormed into Shigure’s house with a cake and Saki in tow, boxes of candles in her hands.

“There’s so many different ones!” Tohru squealed, opening her third box of the candles Saki brought, these ones in the shape of different animals. _I hope there’s enough to represent the Zodiac animals_ , she thought absentmindedly before saying out loud, “But we couldn’t possibly! I really don’t want to impose!”

Arisa sighed and flicked Tohru’s nose with her finger. “Tohru. Happy birthday. We’re having a party.”

“B-b-but—”

“Or call it a _soiree,_ a small gathering, whichever you prefer,” said Saki with a small smile. “This is for you, Tohru. You’re not seventeen every day.”

Tohru sniffed, fighting back the wet pricks in her eyes. “Th-thank you…”

Arisa, in turn, let out a loud sniff and pointed at Tohru. “Damn it, Tohru! Now I’m crying! You know this is how I start crying every time! Because you do first!”

And then the three of them were laughing, with Tohru and Arisa wiping their eyes and noses on their uniform shirt sleeves. After their laughter trickled off, Arisa stretched her arms over her head. “Where’s Carrots? And the Prince?”

“Yes,” said Saki. “There’s no party without them.”

“Although there could be a party without that perverted writer,” Arisa muttered.

“Uh-um!” Tohru wrung her hands in her skirt. “I believe Shigure-san told me he would be gone today. And the boys are probably up in their rooms, so we shouldn’t disturb—”

Arisa darted to the stairs. Tohru squealed. “Uo-chan, waaaaait!” She trotted as fast as she could to the bottom of the stairs but stopped short as Arisa stomped around on the top floor.

“Hey! Boys! Boooooyyyyyssss!”

“Uo-chan!” Tohru whisper-yelled, horrified. She was never one to draw attention to herself, and even if it was Kyo and Yuki, she did not want to impose on them and their plans.

“What the hell do you want, Yankee?!”

Tohru whimpered. She really did not want Kyo to be getting worked up; it rained today, and she knew it put him out for a while.

Arisa cackled. “Sorry, did I interrupt you masturbating or something?”

“YOU HAVE NO SHAME!”

“Disgusting.” Yuki’s clear and smooth voice reverberated down the stairs even though he spoke rather quietly. Tohru imagined him with his arms crossed. “You’re supposed to be _discreet_ about that kind of thing, stupid cat.”

“YOU DAMN RAT, DON’T ACT LIKE YOU DON’T DO IT TOO! GOD, I’m tired of you all…”

“Get up, Carrots,” said Arisa. “It’s a special day.”

“Eh?”

“Tohru’s birthday? Really? You’re gonna forget her birthday?”

Absolute silence. Tohru swore she could hear her nails digging into her own skirt, which she did not think was a possible sound to hear. Then…

Kyo came pounding down the stairs and stopped short of knocking Tohru down. His eyes were wild, his orange hair disheveled, as he looked at her. “It’s your birthday? Are you serious?”

“Uh-um,” she twisted her hands deeper into the end of her skirt. “I really don’t like to make a big deal out of it—”

“But you didn’t tell anyone!” he said, his face going red. “If I’d known—”

“Honda-san, happy birthday.” Yuki glided down the stairs, a serene smile on his face. Kyo scowled and moved past Tohru. “I wish I had known earlier, so I could have wished you a happy birthday.”

“I-it’s not really a big deal!” Tohru squeaked. “I-I don’t like to normally… celebrate…”

“Tohru, you’re one year older,” said Saki. “Seventeen is special.”

“Is it?” said Arisa. “I just thought it was a good excuse to party.”

“You’re exhausting,” came Kyo’s muffled voice from the living room.

“Come onnnnnn,” said Arisa, bounding into the living room. Tohru pattered after her, mumbling under her breath, followed by Saki and Yuki. “You’re not going to ignore Tohru’s birthday, are you?”

Kyo, who had been sitting with his head in his arms at the table, shot his head up quickly, his face so red that, combined with his hair, he so resembled a flame of fire. “You idiot! _Of course_ that’s not what I—”

“Of course?” Arisa and Saki said in unison. Yuki raised a hand up to his mouth, and Tohru panicked, thinking he was coughing, but then she heard the tell-tale sign of a snicker.

_Oh. They’re teasing him. But… why?_

Tohru brushed that thought away and smiled as Kyo yelled, “You people just can’t… let a guy… rest…” He slumped over his arms again on the table. Tohru’s heart panged, so she sprung into action.

“Um, Kyo-kun!” She jumped over and laid a hand on his head. “Are you all right? You really don’t have to—”

“I’m FINE! Don’t you go worrying—” Kyo’s voice cut off then, having just been chopped by Yuki on the head.

Yuki cracked his knuckles. “Do you ever get tired of complaining? This isn’t _your_ day. This is Honda-san’s day.”

“That’s right, Prince,” said Arisa. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

***

“What’s with all the candles?” said Kyo, poking one of them down further into the cake. The five of them were now seated around the table, the cake displayed in the middle. Now that it had been unwrapped, Tohru could see white icing balanced with pink flowers on it and _Happy birthday, Tohru!_ in a loopy calligraphy, surrounded by seventeen candles, all miscellaneous and definitely not the full set of Zodiac animals ( _and no cat_ , Tohru thought).

“Like when we’re kids, dummy,” said Arisa. “Surely someone with your hair color would remember something like that.”

“What the hell does _my hair color_ have anything to do with _birthday candles_?”

“It’s like the flame,” said Saki. “The same shade and tone.”

“You all are so dumb,” Kyo moaned, shaking his head, waving his hand. “Just get on with it.”

“One more year until we’re all out of here,” said Arisa. “So maybe this is the last chance to have something like we would when we were kids.”

Tohru’s eyes went downcast. She remembered her mother there on every birthday, even the one right before she was killed. Her mother’s warm smile, her soft hugs, and even her terrible singing of “Happy birthday” made Tohru’s heart hurt. Those moments were special, perhaps even more special now… 

Arisa took Tohru’s hand. “It’s your first birthday without Kyoko-san. We wanted to make sure you had a good time, Tohru.”

Tohru’s eyes welled up with tears. She sniffed. “I’m okay.”

Saki took Tohru’s other hand and squeezed. “We love you, Tohru.”

When Tohru looked up, she made eyes with Yuki first. He smiled tenderly, as he did in his garden all those months ago, a smile of that is both timid and strong. “Happy birthday, Honda-san.”

Tohru’s eyes flickered to Kyo next. He was staring at her, and his face flashed a look of torment—eyes round, shimmering, and sad, like he was holding something back. Perhaps she imagined it, though, because the next second, he too gave her one of his rare smiles, awkward but sincere. “Happy birthday, you goof.”

“Blow out the candles, Tohru-kun,” Saki whispered. When Tohru looked, she gasped: who had lit the candles while she was lost in thought? They glowed orange, and Tohru giggled.

“What’s up?” said Arisa, smirking. Tohru looked at her and knew she understood exactly what Tohru was thinking.

“The candle fire really is like Kyo-kun’s hair!” Tohru exclaimed, smiling bright, tears still in her eyes.

“IT IS NOT!”

“Make a wish, Honda-san,” said Yuki.

Tohru breathed air into her lungs and held it. _My wish…_

***

“Did you have a good time?”

Tohru jumped: Kyo often made her do that, and he was not normally one to visit her even in the threshold of her door. “Kyo-kun! Y-you startled me. You really do sneak up like a cat.”

“Wh-what?” he said, cheeks reddening. “Why do you always say stuff like that? It’s fucking weird.”

“S-sorry…”

“No, uh, sorry. I should have knocked maybe, but I thought—your door was open—I mean, really… did you have a good time?”

Tohru smiled. “I had a wonderful time, Kyo-kun. I’m so happy you all came together to throw me a party!”

His eyes widened, and his blush deepened on his cheeks. “Hold on… I didn’t do anything, okay?! It was all that Yankee and Wave Girl and maybe the damn rat.”

“Okay!” She smiled. “Sure!”

He scowled, but it quickly morphed into a smile. “Man. You really are something.”

Tohru’s cheeks reddened, and her stomach dropped. “I-I don’t know about that.”

“Well, next year…” Kyo paused before glancing at her. “Next year I won’t fucking forget. Your birthday, that is.”

Tohru stammered a bit, but then her voice left her as Kyo kept staring at her. His eyes—again, so sad but also so full of something she could not identify. It made her chest ache a little at the thought. She fought the urge to bring her hand up to her chest and clutch at it for dear life. “Th-thank you.”

His cheeks went a dusty pink. “Well… sorry to bother you.”

“N-no, you’re never bothering me, Kyo-ku—”

His fist bopped her head, fingers curled tightly. She swore his touch stayed there a second longer than normal, her bangs splayed around his fist. She breathed in deep and stared at the beads on his wrist directly in front of her. Red and white… What did it mean?

He pulled away. “Happy birthday.”

Then Kyo was gone, like a cat darting away, startled, and Tohru could not help feeling she was the reason. She gulped, swallowing the lump in her throat and thought back to the moment she blew out the candles, seeing the flicker of the orange flame meld into the view she had of Kyo across from her at the table. His eyes, watching her make her wish with her shaky breath. She was curious about him. She wanted to know more about him, but maybe that’s not what he wanted. Maybe she was just forcing her own wish onto him. He told her before, though, that she could be selfish. Maybe this was going too far.

So even before thinking of wishing her mother were there, for a split second Tohru thought, _I wish I could know what makes him ache. What makes Kyo-kun hurt so much right now._

But she had pushed that aside and blown out the candles, wishing for her mother.


End file.
